Method and apparatus for weaving wire cloth



June 1 1926. 1,587,337 I H. LINDSAY METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WEAVINGWIRE CLOTH Filed D90. 15, 1921 fizz/#2242 02? /wpuZ/ YC n W PatentedJune 1, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT or-sics.

HAMILTON LINDSAY, 0F "CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINDSAY WIRE.WEAVING COMPANY, :A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WEAvING WIRE CLOTH.

Application filed. December 15, 1921. Serial No. 522,483.

This invention relates to weaving wire cloth and is particularlyconcerned with a method and apparatus for securing an even weave to thefinished material.

In looms of the fly-shuttle type, when the bobbin is non-rotatablymounted in the shuttie, the shoot wire or lay thread has a tendency totwist or kink while it is being laid in the shed. lhe ordinarytensioning devices which are employed to hold the wire taut after theshuttle has come to a stop are only designed to hold the wirecomparatively straight until the batten forces itagainst the previouslywoven cloth. Consequently, the cloth may be woven with the lay wirehaving a slight twist or kink at various intervals. This causes thewoven cloth to have slight irregularities which are detrimental when,for instance, a belt of such cloth is used in paper manufacturingmachines. To reduce this disadvantage it has been customary to employconsiderable time for inspection by skilled workers who attempt toremedy the defects by manually smoothing the cloth.

In order, therefore, to overcome the difficulties above set forth, myinvention is directed toward the provision of means for stretching eachlay thread just before the batten forces it into the woven material, toremove the slight twists or kinks, which may be left in the wire afterit has been payed out from the bobbin.

Still another object is to accomplish this result with simple mechanismwhich may be readily installed on existing looms, and which positivelystretches each lay thread before the batten starts on its forwardstroke.

In accomplishing the above objects, I stretch the shoot wire or laythread preferably by preventing the thread from uncoiling during acertain interval in the movement of the shuttle and by employing themomentum of the shuttle for stretching the wire by giving it a slightjerk just before the shuttle. comes to a stop. In this way, the tendencyto twist is taken out f the wire so that a tensioning mechanism whichfunctions after the shuttle has come to a stop, may draw the wire tautand thus hold it comparatively straight until the batten moves forwardlyto drive the wire into the woven cloth.

The means for carrying out my invention another.

will be hereinafter fully set forth in the following description, whichrelates to the drawings, and the essential characteristics of myinvention will be summarized in the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the shuttle within a shuttlebox, the box being equipped with a wire stretching means constructedaccording to my invention; Fig. 2 is a section taken through the shuttlebox showing the shuttle in position just as it is leaving the shuttlebox shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section taken through the forward endof the shuttle shown in Fig. 2, and showing the tensioning means inactive position; Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections taken on thelines 4& and 5-5 respectively; and Fig. 6 is a section takenlongitudinally in a vertical plane through the shuttle, and illustratingthe action of my locking device.

Designating the parts shown in the drawing by the use of referencecharacters, 10 represents the bottom, and 11 and 12 the side walls of a.shuttle box, which is mounted on one side of the loom frame indicatedgenerally at 13. At one end of the shuttle box, I have shown a pickerblock 14: which is engaged by a picker staff 15, and is adapted to throwthe shuttle at predetermined intervals across the loom to the shuttlebox on the opposite side of the frame. shuttle proper comprises a memberhaving side bars 20 and 21 which are connected at the ends 22 and 23,and which are provided with cross bars 24 and 25 adjacent the ends; thusproviding an open space for receiving the bobbin 26. The wire whichforms the lay thread is previously wound on the bobbin and is allowed topass through the guides 27 to insure the even removal from the bobbinwhile the shuttle passes from one box to At each end of the shuttle areshown rollers 28 and 29.

When wire is payed out through a shuttle constructed in accordance withthe manner. described, there is a tendency for it to twist and curlafter it is laid'in the shed. Ordinarily the mechanism employed forstraightening the thread just prior to the operation of the batten issufficient to straighten it, but not to take the tendency to twist outof the wire. Accordingly, to remove these, kinks, I prefer to employ themomentum of the shuttle for stretching the The wire a slight amount. Theamount of elongation contemplated, however, is not sutiicient to stretchthe wire beyond the elastic limit but only enough to take the tendencyto twist out of it, so that the subsequently operating tension mechanismmay straighten the wire, and hold it until the batten forces it into thewoven cloth.

To utilize the momentum of the shuttle for stretching the wire, Iprovide a mechanism which engages it adjacent the bobbin and positivelylocks it, thereby preventing it from being payed out, whereuponcontinued movement of the shuttle stretches the shoot wire just laid.This mechanism comprises a lock and is shown as comprising a member 30which is free to move laterally through an opening in the side bar 20,and which is adapted to be normally held away from the wir by means of aleai spring 31, which is secured at 32 to the inner portion of theshuttle.

Referring now to Fig. 3, l have shown the relative position of themember 30 to the wire as it is being paid out from the bobbin during thelocking operation. From this drawing, it will be apparent that the wirepasses over the top of the member 30, then between the uides 2? fromwhence it leads out into the shed. The lock is actuated whenever themember 30 engages a cam there being one of such cams disposed in thepath of the member 30 and on each side of the shuttle frame. Forconvenience, l: have shown these cams as mounted within the shuttlebones, and as so positioned therein, that the lock is released beforethe shuttle is brought to a step. For enabling the member 30 to easilythe earn, 1 have shown the bearing surfaces thereof bevelled, as at 33,and I have shown the ends of the cam as being similarly shaped.

The position 01"- the member 30, when the lock is applied, is shown inFig. 3, wherein the wire 36 is locked a 'ainst the end of the bobbin bythe top of member 30. The looking action of the wire is effected byreason of the fact, that the wire is revolving around the bobbin as itis being paid out during the movement of the shuttle, and further, byreason of the fact that the member 30 is normally out of the oath of therevolving wire, but is interposed into such path when the bearingsurface engages the cam 3%. By interposing the member 80 into the pathof the wire, then the wire is prevented from revolving iurther, and as aresult, the wire is positively locked and is given a quick jerk whilethe shuttle is in motion. This jerk stretches the wire in a certaindegree. The amount of such elongation is, of course, de pendent upon thelength of the cam 34, and the effectiveness of such stretching isdetermined by the relative position of the cam to the shuttle, when itis brought to a stop.

In this connection, satisfactory results are secured when the cam is sopositioned that the lock is released before the shutt e is brought to astop. In this way the reaction of the Wire, after being stretched, maybe taken care of by allowing a short length of material to be payed outtrom the bobbin.

lVhile I have illustrated a stretchin mechanism adapted for power looms,as embodied in a shuttle operated lock, it is understood that the methodillustrated is only one or the various means which may be employed, andthat broadly, the invention is concerned with the method of weavingcloth. The means illustrated, however, provides the desired results, inthat the wire is stretched an amount suiiicient to eliminate the kinks,and still to keep it within the elastic limit of the metal.

The operation of a loom having a shuttle equipped with my invention isas follows: Assuming that the shuttle is in position in the shuttlebOf-I shown in F 1, then as the picker statl' 15 is actua ed bymcchanism(not shown) to throw the shuttle to the opposite box, wire is payed outfrom the bobbin 26. Then as the shuttle approaches the opposite box, thebeveled edge 33 ot the member 30 rides up on the cam 3i, whereupon thetop of the member 30 is interposed into the path of the thread So longas the member 30 remains in engagement with the cam 84;, the wire 36 isprevented from moving oii' the bobbin. The movement the shuttle is sorapid, however, that the lay wire is given a slight jerk which is silicient to remove the small kinks or unevenness in the wire. As theshuttle is moved still further toward the picker block the member 80 isreleased by reason of the fact that the surfaces 33 clear the cam 34.Then after the shuttle has been brought to a stop, the straighteningmechanism is actuated in the usual manner to hold the wire comparativelystraight until the batten is brought forwardly. A similar operationoccurs when the shuttle is thrown across the loom on the return stroke.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that my inventionprovides a means for stretching a lay thread below the elastic limit ofthe wire to remove the tendency to twist and kink therein, and that themeans may be readily attached to existing looms without making materialchanges in the construction thereof. Furthermore, this mechanism ispositive in its operation, is capable of being accurately adjusted tosuit the cloth being woven, and is very simple in construction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a power loom having ashuttle, shuttle bones, and means for moving the shuttle across the loomfrom one box to another, the method of weaving wire cloth comprisingmomentarily locking the wire while the shuttle is in motion near the endof its stroke so as to impart a quick jerk to the wire and thenreleasing the wire before the shuttle is brought to a stop in theshuttle box.

2. In a power loom having a shuttle, shuttle boxes, and means for movingthe shuttle across the loom from one shuttle box to another, comprisingpassing a woof thread between warp threads then looking the woof threadto the shuttle while the shuttle is in motion and when the shuttle isadjacent the end of the loom toward which it is traveling, maintainingthe woof thread locked to the shuttle tor a suiiicient length of time totake out the kinks and to overcome the tend ency to twist therein, thenreleasing the thread before the shuttle is brought to a stop andsubsequently forcing it into the work.

3. In a loom for weaving wire cloth, the combination with a frame ofshuttle boxes on each side of the frame, a shuttle adapted to pass fromone box to another to lay a wire, said shuttle having a bobbinassociated therewith around which the Wire revolves while it is beingpaid out and means for intercepting the wire during the layingoperation, said means being arranged to lock the wire upon itself andupon the bobbin while the shuttle is in motion and thereby to stretchthe wire sufiiciently to remove the kinks therein but to keep the amountof stretching below the elastic limit of the wire.

4. In a power loom, the combination of a shuttle, a shuttle boxtherefor, means for moving the shuttle across the loom, a. membercarried by the shuttle and movable with relation thereto, said membernormally allowing the wire to turn around the bobbin while the shuttleis in motion, and means associated with the shuttle box and forinterposing the member in the path 01 the wire, so as to lock the wireto the shuttle positively while the shuttle is in motion, whereby a jerkis imparted to the wire, said last mentioned means being arranged torelease said member before the shuttle is brought to a stop.

5. In a power loom, the combination with a shuttle of a bobbin carriedthereby, said shuttle having an opening in a side wall thereof, a membercarried by the shuttle, said member being mounted inside the shuttle andhaving a portion thereof normally projecting through the opening andbeyond the outer side of the shuttle, a shuttle box for receiving saidshuttle, a cam carried by said box and arranged to engage said outwardlyprojecting portion of the member and to force the member inwardly withrelation to the shuttle, said member being forward of the bobbin andspaced therefrom, whereby the wire which is being paid out from thebobbin is caused to engage the top of said member and thereby to bepositively locked against further paying out, and whereby a jerk isimparted to the wire, said cam being arranged to release the memberbefore the shuttle is brought to a stop.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

HAMILTON LINDSAY.

